Chronic Non-malignant Pain (CNMP) Share this page

Chronic nonmalignant pain (CNMP) is defined variously as pain lasting 3 months or more, or as pain persisting beyond the time of expected healing. It can begin with trauma (e.g., back strain) or disease (e.g., pancreatitis) or can occur de novo (e.g., fibromyalgia, daily migraine). One in 10 U.S. adults reports current pain that has lasted a year or more. Reviews have estimated the prevalence of severe chronic pain in the general adult population to be approximately 11%. It is our most common cause of disability.

Risk factors are biologic, sociologic, psychological, and environmental. It is more common in those with depression, anxiety, and substance-use disorders. Pain-associated disability is also more common in those from lower socioeconomic strata and in those who dislike their work or feel underpaid and unsupported at work. Risk is higher in certain vocations (e.g., truck driving), in survivors of overwhelming trauma (e.g., childhood abuse, natural disasters, combat), and in those genetically sensitive to noxious stimulation. Conditions commonly associated with Chronic nonmalignant pain (CNMP) include spine disease, headache disorders, fibromyalgia, neuropathies, and arthritis.